Beyond the Veil: Halal grows on her

This Spiced Lamb Burger, made earlier this year by Gina Galvin in the Chomp Chomp Nation food truck, is halal. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

There are certain foods Muslims can’t eat.

And I’ve come to realize that there also are certain rules about those foods — more rules than I want to remember.

Dietary guidelines are a huge deal for practicing Muslims. It’s even more challenging to follow the rules when you don’t know what’s in your food or how it was prepared.

While I don’t follow all the rules, I’m always aware of what I can and can’t eat.

Lately, however, dietary restrictions have been top of mind.

First, my friend Meesh, a traditional Jew, started following stricter kosher guidelines. Then my Islamic studies class at the Islamic Institution of Orange County’s College of Islamic Studies began the first two sessions with discussions on what Muslims can and can’t eat.

What resonated with me in class goes beyond the basics of not eating pork (or anything from a pig), carrion meat, or drinking blood (disgusting) or alcohol.

What stuck with me is the why behind the guidelines, and how they mainly involve the treatment of the animals.

Muslims are allowed to eat meat (sorry, vegetarians), but not just any meat. And the process of turning the animal into meat is what governs what is and isn’t halal.

Aside from invoking the name of God before the animal is slaughtered, the person handling the animal must treat it humanely throughout its life, as well as in the moments before it is slaughtered and during the actual process of ending its life.

What does that mean? The animals must be fed good food that doesn’t hurt them or in any way degrade their meat or milk. The animal cannot be beaten, confined in an uncomfortable position or electrocuted during the slaughtering process (something that’s common in many commercial slaughterhouses).

If the animal dies before it is properly slaughtered, Muslims cannot eat its meat.

Also, during the slaughtering process, the animal should not be allowed to see the knife or whatever device that will end its life. And the blade of that knife must be sharp enough so only one cut is required to end the animal’s life. What’s more, the area where the animal is cut is specifically defined — between the throat and the upper bone of the chest. The belief is that this immediately cuts off circulation, drains the blood and generally produces a swift, relatively painless death.

(By the way, I would never slaughter or kill an animal. I would feel too guilty about it, though I’ve seen it happen in front of me many times growing up.)

Though some might find it gruesome to hear the details of these rules, my reaction was different. I couldn’t help but feel pride that my religion requires such humane methods, and that treating the animal in this fashion results in some spiritual purity.

That Islam requires such steps is just another example of its overall philosophy and humanity.

Though it is hard for me to imagine myself not eating at some of my favorite restaurants because I’m not sure how the animal was treated, and how it might have been slaughtered, I feel like that is what I should be doing — eating halal meat and food. How can I turn my back on those humane methods when they belong to my religion?

So I have a proposal: I call on all of my favorite restaurants, and my future favorite restaurants, to only work with halal or kosher meat. I contend that this would benefit not only Muslims but everyone.

Problem solved.

Mona Shadia was born and raised in Cairo and now lives in Orange County. Her column is about living as a Muslim in America.

This Spiced Lamb Burger, made earlier this year by Gina Galvin in the Chomp Chomp Nation food truck, is halal. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A plate with several components of halal cuisine, it includes falafel, hummus, baba ganoush and kibi. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Different types of seasoned halal meats, including beef and chicken shawerma, offered at El Toro Market Place in Lake Forest. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Francisco Angeles walks alongside the glass panes of the meat section in El Toro Market. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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